Blather.net photo blog

Month: May 2008

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Sydney Opera House, Australia, originally uploaded by blather.Click for high resolution » Looks a lot different up close! The Sydney Opera House is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site on June 28, 2007. Based on the competition winning entry by Danish architect JÃ¸rn Utzon, the Sydney Opera House is one of the world's most distinctive 20th century buildings, and one of the most famous performing arts venues in the world. It is situated on Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour, close to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The building and its surroundings are one of the best known icons of Australia. (wikipedia)

I took this as a long exposure on the railing of the boardwalk, praying the hordes of soccer louts beating seven shades of shite out of each other would fail to notice me. My prayers were answered. The Ha'penny Bridge, known later for a time as the Penny Ha'penny Bridge, is a pedestrian bridge built in 1816 over the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland. Originally called the Wellington Bridge (after the Duke of Wellington), the name of the bridge changed to Liffey Bridge, its official name to this day. It is still commonly known as the Ha'penny Bridge. The toll itself was dropped in 1919; before this there were turnstiles either end of it. Irish Architecture » Ha'penny Bridge, Dublin, originally uploaded by blather.Download high resolution photograph of the Ha'penny Bridge »

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Waving for the camera - Busy Pedestrian Crossing at Shibuya, Tok, originally uploaded by blather. A French tourist waves for the cameras at the scramble crossing at Hachiko Square Shibuya, reportedly the world's busiest pedestrian crossing. It's surrounded by video screens, giving a very Bladerunner feel. It's overlooked by one of the busiest Starbucks cafes in the world, from where this photograph was taken. The crossing also features in a scene from Lost in Translation with Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson.

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Yushin Whale meat shop, Asakusa, Tokyo, originally uploaded by blather. Click for high resolution » Yushin whale meat shop Asakusa, Tokyo. In the photograph you can see a toy whale perched a shelf containing tinned whale meat, selling for about US$4-6. In the background left is a potential customer and child. To the right is a member of staff. Next door is a whale meat restaurant, also called Yushin. The meat for both premises comes from the factory vessel Nisshin Maru, which carries out controversial "scientific whaling research" in the Southern Ocean every year, killing hundreds of whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. After the whaling fleet arrive back in Japan, the whale meat is sold off to shops like Yushin. Critics, such as Greenpeace,...

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Irei no Izumi, Soul Comforting Spring at Yasukuni Shrine, Tokyo, originally uploaded by blather. Click for high resolution » Irei no Izumi, Soul Comforting Spring is dedicated to those who died of thirst in battle situations. It's within the Yasukuni Shrine complex in Tokyo. Yasukuni Shrine, originally named Tokyo Shokonsha was constructed in June 1869 by order of the Meiji Emperor to commemorate soldiers who had died in the Boshin War and had fought on the side of the Restoration. At that time it was one of several dozen such shrines built throughout Japan. In 1879, the shrine was renamed Yasukuni Jinja and became one of the principal shrines associated with State Shinto as well as the primary national shrine for commemorating Japan's war dead. The...

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Yushima Seido Confucian Temple, Tokyo, originally uploaded by blather. Get high resolution version » Yushima Seido located in the Yushima neighbourhood of Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, was constructed by Hayashi Razan as a Confucian temple in the Genroku era of the Edo period (end of the 17th century). It was closed in it was closed in 1871 after the Meiji Restoration. Apparently it was used as a location in the TV series Monkey during the 1970s, and today is used as a place of prayer for students studying for exams. Wikipedia »

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Malahide Castle, Co. Dublin, originally uploaded by blather. Download high resolution photograph of Malahide Castle » Malahide Castle is a Norman structure in north county Dublin, Ireland. et on 250 acres of park land in the pretty seaside town of Malahide, was both a fortress and a private home for nearly eight hundred years. The Talbot family lived here from 1185 to 1973, when the last Lord Talbot died. The house is furnished with beautiful period furniture together with an extensive collection of Irish portrait paintings, mainly from the National Gallery. The history of the Talbot family is recorded in the Great Hall, with portraits of generations of the family telling their own story of Ireland's stormy history. One of the more poignant legends concerns the...

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Harpist Brenda Malloy busking outside Trinity College Dublin, originally uploaded by blather. Download high resolution version » Harpist Brenda Malloy busking outside Trinity College Dublin. I took this photograph for a magazine in Washington DC., but was rushing to another meeting plus a friendly german man approached me to talk cameras.. I didn't get a chance to talk to the harpist, so I didn't know her name. However, I realised later that I had a contact on flickr that is a harpist, so I emailed her, hoping she might know the College Green musician. Typically, "Diogenes 24" on flickr.com turned out to be the very person I'd photographed - Brenda Malloy!